 Monday, 13 August 2007
 Saw Stardust
Saturday we saw Stardust (imdb), which is based on an extraordinary illustrated novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess (you must find this version, with the illustrations, not the comparatively lifeless text-only mass-market paperback).
I was forewarned that the script had made some concessions to the motion picture medium (shortening the story, reducing the # of characters, ditching lesser plot points...) but also that I should still expect a good rendition.
And? It was ok. But it could have been so much better. I didn't mind much as I was watching (except for a couple of added fight scenes), but in hindsight I was much more bothered by some changes, especially where characters' new behavior (such as Victoria Forester's) really forced them into a cardboard-thin character box. And the end felt comparatively both forced and rushed.
The frustrating thing is, knowing what the plot originally was, I don't see why most of the changes had to happen at all. I can understand the erasure of Daisy Hemphill; that was simplifying without costing much plot. But many of the missing plot points would have been much more satisfying (and maybe even easier to shoot) than the ones they replaced them with. Sigh.
Three stars of five.
See the movie, it's entertaining enough; Robert De Niro and Mark Strong (Septimus) are excellent, Michelle Pfeiffer and Claire Danes and Charlie Cox are good. Certain scenes are well and faithfully rendered.
But you're really missing out on a much better story if you never pick up the book.
Books / Comics / Movies
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Public Service Announcement - Babylon 5 DVDs We had not gotten around to buying Babylon 5 on DVD, largely because of the expense -- it started out at what, about $70 per season? $80?
Over the years they've slowly made their way down to a low of ~$38/season (or, get all 5 together for ... $220? - how's that work, Amazon?). But that's still a pretty chunk of change for a show we've already seen, no matter how much we'd like it in our library.
This Sunday, patience/laziness paid off - Best Buy (and apparently ONLY Best Buy -- other vendors still have the 'standard' price or above) lumped the B5 seasons into one of its "TV Seasons for $20!" weekly specials.
So, that means that this week you can get the whole set at your local BB for... $100 (if they have all 5 seasons; ours didn't). Or you can get them all mail-order from their online store for just a bit more.
We still weren't in a big rush to get them, but we know we can't realistically expect a lower price than that to come along for years, so, we bit.
Big-time savings on geek stuff, just one of the services we provide here...
TV
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